School districts with unspent Emergency Elementary and Secondary Education Relief (ESSER) Funds have until Sept. 30, 2023 to obligate ESSER II money and Sept. 30, 2024 to obligate ESSER III money. These funds may be spent in support of school nutrition programs.
A resource from Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign highlights how states, localities, and schools can leverage COVID relief funds like ESSER. For instance, ESSER funds were intended to help mitigate issues created or exacerbated by the pandemic and ensure schools are more prepared for the future. For example, ESSER funds were used in one school district in Georgia to replace an electric slicer because it was overused from making so many sandwiches for virtual students.